Down Memory Lane - Voltron

Chapter 11 - The Orb

/* Yay, got through everyone's personal fears.  Let's have some fun, yeah?  Please comment and vote, to help me be a better writer!  Thanks */

Lance's POV

The next cavern is different. For one, it isn't empty. A golden pedestal sits serenely in the center of the room, a shaft of bright light illuminating it. A pale white orb the size of a basketball rests on the pedestal. A swirl of pastel colors shines on the orb's surface, making it look like a large pearl.

Lance follows behind Keith, keeping his eye trained on his leader's back. Keith's memories and fears were fucked up, and he's concerned about his friend's well-being. Lance never knew just how much Keith suffered as a kid, and it hurts when Lance looks back at his own petty past where he was jealous of Mullet's abilities. Now all Lance can think about is how lucky he is to have a loving family, scratch that, two loving families.

"That's a Turian Pearl!" Allura exclaims. "They are very rare."

Keith heads straight to the altar, his hand reaching toward the orb, the sole reason for their trials.

"Wait!" Lance cries out, right before Keith touches the treasure. The other paladins turn to him, and he feels the weight of their gaze as he voices his concern. "What if it's booby trapped?"

Keith, the only one Lance is looking at, raises a single eyebrow above his red swollen eyes. Lance feels his face warm up; Keith might be angry, but he's also incredibly cute.

"Lance, I already checked for traps; there are none," Pidge assures him.

"What if they are not high-tech traps? Like a bolder could be sitting right above the Pearl, and we don't know until we take it away," Lance explains. Keith looks around the cavern, considering. Eventually, Keith returns his gaze to Lance.

"What do you think we should do?" Keith finally asks, his voice raspier than normal from earlier. Lance's heart soars, Keith is taking him seriously.

"Well, Indiana Jones finds something that weighs about the same to replace it with," Lance says, looking around the room for something. His gaze lands on a large rock, around the same size as the Pearl. "Like this," Lance continues, walking toward the rock.

"Didn't that plan fail with Indiana Jones? Like the boulder fell anyways?" Hunk asks nervously. Oh, Lance forgot about that.

"It did, but it's worth a shot. If we put the boulder on and nothing happens, then either there was no trap or we fooled it. If something happens, at least we tried," Shiro reasons.

Lance picks up the rock, making his way toward Keith, who is standing idly beside the pedestal. He motions at Keith to grab the Pearl, and quickly puts the imposter rock in its place. Everyone holds a breath, but nothing happens.

Keith holds the orb to his chest and releases his breath. The ground rumbles. The pedestal and some of the ground around it falls. Below is nothing but inky blackness.

"Keith!" Lance yells, grabbing onto the black paladin's wrist. The floor had fallen beneath Keith, but not from under Lance. The rumbling continues shaking the cavern but no more of the floor falls through. Lance can only hope that will remain true.

He tightens his hold on Keith's wrist as the rest of the team comes running. The paladins hold onto Lance to stop him from falling in, but they can't get close enough to grab Keith. They try to pull Lance up and Keith with him, but the pain is too much and he screams.